INDIANAPOLIS — A woman was injured and three dogs were rescued during an apartment fire on the north side of Indianapolis Tuesday evening.
Public emergency reporting systems indicate Indianapolis Fire Department crews were dispatched to the 1700 block of Tanglewood Square — which is located near the intersection of West 79th Street and Harcourt Road — around 7:19 p.m. on a report of an apartment fire.
IFD Battalion Chief Scott Olofson confirmed crews weren’t met by many flames when they arrived at the scene. Firefighters did, however, find a great deal of smoke in the apartment building.
According to Olofson, the fire and smoke were mostly contained to one unit located on the second floor of a larger apartment complex. One of the apartment’s walls caught fire, and crews quickly extinguished the flames. As a result, most of the damage the building sustained was smoke-related.
Firefighters found the woman who was injured during the blaze while they were searching the building. When crews first found her, she was in critical condition. IFD reported that the woman’s condition was mostly the product of smoke inhalation, rather than physical burns.
Per IFD, medics who responded to the scene transported the woman to an area hospital via ambulance. The medics told IFD personnel the woman was awake and talking by the time she got to the hospital.
Olofson reported the three dogs that were rescued from the building during the fire are currently “alive and well.” The dogs have been turned over to animal control. The victim, who is the owner of the dogs, will be able to get them back when she has recovered from her injuries.
IFD tried to vent out the building and clear it of any remaining smoke after they extinguished the fire. Crews also did a secondary search of the building, which revealed no other individuals were injured during the fire.
Olofson also confirmed the apartment complex’s residents will be able to return to their units once emergency operations at the scene have ceased because the majority of the damage caused by the fire is contained to one unit.
One of the complex’s other apartments sustained water damage during the fire. Olofson reported that the water-damaged unit is currently vacant.
Though they rapidly extinguished the fire, crews did face some weather-related challenges at the scene. Because the outdoor temperature was below freezing, firefighters had to continuously run water through their hoses to keep them from accumulating any ice.
The excess water that ran out of the hoses spilled onto the ground, creating puddles that ultimately ended up freezing.
“It’s very cold,” Olofson said. “We’re below freezing right now. So, even for us with the large-diameter handlines, water freezes. So, we have to keep that water moving. And unfortunately, as you keep it moving and coming out of the hose lines, it starts to puddle, and that turns into ice. It gets risky.”
IFD is still trying to determine the exact cause of the fire. As of this article’s publication, no additional information on the blaze had been made available.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
